Case Digest (G.R. No. 84729)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Alfredo Araquel, G.R. No. 12629, December 09, 1959, the Supreme Court En Banc, Gutierrez David, J., writing for the Court.
The prosecution (the People of the Philippines) appealed an order of the Court of First Instance of Ilocos Sur dismissing an information for homicide against Alfredo Araquel on double jeopardy grounds. On January 30, 1955 the acting chief of police of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur filed a complaint in the Justice of the Peace Court charging Araquel with homicide for allegedly hacking and killing Alberto Pagadian with a bolo.
While that complaint remained pending, the chief of police moved on July 3, 1956 to amend the complaint to charge "homicide under exceptional circumstances" as defined in Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code. The Justice of the Peace allowed the amendment on July 16, 1956; Araquel was arraigned the same day, pleaded guilty to the amended charge, and was sentenced to one year destierro outside a 25-kilometer radius from Narvacan municipal building.
During Araquel’s service of the destierro sentence, the case was brought to the attention of the Provincial Fiscal through the Department of Justice. After investigation, the acting Provincial Fiscal filed on February 16, 1957 an information in the Court of First Instance charging Araquel with homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code. On July 9, 1957 Araquel moved to quash the information on the ground of double jeopardy; the fiscal opposed. Th...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was Araquel legally placed in jeopardy such that the subsequent information for homicide should be quashed on double jeopardy grounds?
- Does Article 247, Revised Penal Code define a distinct crime triable by the Justice of the Peace (because it is penalized with destierro), or does it merely grant an exempting/mitigating privilege applicable to homicide, with the consequence that jurisdiction li...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)